Just started conversion last night (complete 2011, so happy)

[frogabog]

Re: Just started conversion last night

OK, I just read the Baquil conversion information in pool school. Never felt the need to before this, it's a short read though and very similar to standard shocking info.

I see that you're saying you "shock" every 12 hours. That's not what the conversion information says to do. It also does say to lower pH to 7.2 before starting.

Because you're at 0 FC right now, your pH reading should be accurate. Because you're at 0 FC right now, you're not shocking and you can again lower pH to 7.2 and begin to shock again.

But you don't want to shock every 12 hours. You need to maintain shock level or 15ppm as the conversion information says to do hourly till you pass the three criteria.

Maybe a full set of results would help. Do you have any CYA in the pool? What chlorine level are you aiming for for shocking?

 

[Leebo]

Re: Just started conversion last night

By my "knowledge" you still will end up with the same result shocking every 12 hours, it will just take longer. The chlorine is still working while it's in there, it's just there's alot of time in-between that there's nothing in there. Maybe the swap can be sped up since the FC is getting ate up by shocking ever 3-4 hours instead? I've also heard keep the CYA out of the pool, as the acid mixes funny with the Baquacil?

Then again....I've yet to work with chlorine at all, and could be an idiot as proven by the fact that I still use Baquacil.

 

[Rick Lohr]

Re: Just started conversion last night

My PH was fine when I started (per step one). It went up during the first day of conversion.
I'm in step 4 now. I've been doing it twice per day, it says at least once. Since I still have so much particulate and my FC drops off so fast, I have not yet shifted to the recommended schedule that duraleigh gave me but I plan to soon.

So now I am thoroughly confused on the PH question. Do I bring it down or ignore it while converting?

Thanks
Rick

 

[Rick Lohr]

Re: Just started conversion last night

OK, I went back to the earlier post and found this:

If FC is really zero, then yes you should lower the PH back down to around 7.2 to 7.4. As long as FC is actually zero, you can add more chlorine as often as hourly.

I'll lower the PH. Not sure why I was thinking that I was told to ignore it during the conversion.

Rick

 

[Rick Lohr]

Re: Just started conversion last night

The water is starting to maintain FC now. The test water was actually bright pink for the first time. The pool is still quite murky and I can't see the bottom.

FC = 4
CC = 4.5
PH = 8.0 - Added 19 Oz of PH MINUS (Sodium Bisulfate) per the directions on the container

Rick

 

[Leebo]

Re: Just started conversion last night

Normally (again I am an idiot) high levels of FC can cause a false ph reading. The levels of FC normally for the swap stay high after the 1/2 way point, thus the reason to ignore the ph reading. Because however your levels of FC are low the ph reading is accurate and it will be beneficial to lower them to allow the chlorine to work more efficiently.

 

[Rick Lohr]

Re: Just started conversion last night

Normally (again I am an idiot) high levels of FC can cause a false ph reading. The levels of FC normally for the swap stay high after the 1/2 way point, thus the reason to ignore the ph reading. Because however your levels of FC are low the ph reading is accurate and it will be beneficial to lower them to allow the chlorine to work more efficiently.

Thank you for the clear answer!
Rick

 

[Rick Lohr]

Re: Just started conversion last night

Day 7:

I can see the bottom clearly now. Its a little murky but we are almost there.
I dosed it three times today. It needed less each time. Using lots of drops at this rate!

10:30 PM Test:
FC 12
CC 4
PH 7.3

I'll soon have to adjust my alkalinity and stabilizer since they are starting to drift off.

Thanks for everyone's help, by the way. I notice now that I've missed reading some posts periodically and not quite sure why.


Rick

 

[Rick Lohr]

Re: Just started conversion last night

Day 8: 5:45 AM (5:00 too early ;-) )

FC 11.5
CC 2.5
PH 7.5 (Still bringing this down. Not sure why it keeps climbing)

Pool is mostly clear. Still some white sediment on the bottom. I put the aquabug back in.

Rick

 

[duraleigh]

Re: Just started conversion last night

Good morning, Rick,

You're making good progress. Don't let your FC drop down like you were doing there for a while (I think you have already corrected that) A baqua-goo conversion is the same as a prolonged shock process...... You clear the pool by CONSTANTLY holding the FC at shock value until you meet the same three criteria......

1. Your water is crystal clear.
2. You lose less than 1.0 FC during the OCLT (no reason to do the OCLT until you meet #1 and #3)
3. Your CC's test is .5 or less

I don't have a really good explanation of the variation in your pH but I suggest you ignore it and focus solely on keeping the FC above 10ppm and cleaning and brushing your pool. The Aqua bug is a cleaner without much capacity for doing big jobs and this conversion may strain it's capacity. manually vacuuming whenever you can is probably better. I haven't reread the whole thread......are you keeping the filter clean? is the pump running 24/7?

You're in the downhill stretch now so don't focus on anything else but keeping FC in the pool and cleaning the pool of solid material any way you can.

 

[Rick Lohr]

Re: Just started conversion last night

Good morning, Rick,

You're making good progress. Don't let your FC drop down like you were doing there for a while (I think you have already corrected that) A baqua-goo conversion is the same as a prolonged shock process...... You clear the pool by CONSTANTLY holding the FC at shock value until you meet the same three criteria......

1. Your water is crystal clear.
2. You lose less than 1.0 FC during the OCLT (no reason to do the OCLT until you meet #1 and #3)
3. Your CC's test is .5 or less

I don't have a really good explanation of the variation in your pH but I suggest you ignore it and focus solely on keeping the FC above 10ppm and cleaning and brushing your pool. The Aqua bug is a cleaner without much capacity for doing big jobs and this conversion may strain it's capacity. manually vacuuming whenever you can is probably better. I haven't reread the whole thread......are you keeping the filter clean? is the pump running 24/7?

You're in the downhill stretch now so don't focus on anything else but keeping FC in the pool and cleaning the pool of solid material any way you can.

Thanks. Yes, I backwash at least once daily and the pump is running 24/7. The aquabug is doing pretty well. I'm brushing as well. Very little particulate is left. I'll ignore the PH for now. What is OCLT?

Also, is there a way to use less of my test drops. Can I dilute the sample by cutting it with distilled water, or can I do 5ml samples rather than 10ml? Now that my FC is staying up, thats lots of chemical used.

Rick

 

[Samantha_in_AL]

Re: Just started conversion last night

OCLT = Overnight Chlorine Loss Test.

It's fine to dilute your sample with 50% distilled water.

Keep up the good work, you're almost there!

 

[Rick Lohr]

Re: Just started conversion last night

OCLT = Overnight Chlorine Loss Test.

It's fine to dilute your sample with 50% distilled water.

Keep up the good work, you're almost there!

Thanks Samantha. That seems like a possible candidate to add to the "Definitions and Abbreviations" page.
Rick

 

[Rick Lohr]

Re: Just started conversion last night

Day 9 6:15 AM

Water is crystal clear. Still just a little white sediment in the middle.
FC 9
CC 2

Dosed it back up to 15 ppm.

Rick

 

[Rick Lohr]

Re: Just started conversion last night

So I went to the pool store today to return my jugs and get some cyanuric acid. I took a water sample just to see how it would come out.
FC 1.5
CC 0
PH 7.5

She told me that my chemicals looked great and that my conversion was complete. She recommended that since I would be closing up the pool for winter in a few weeks that I should keep a Trichlor tablet in my skimmer in the mean time and delay replacing the sand in my filter till Spring. I would remove old the old sand as I winterize the pool. I will probably go to a salt system in the Spring. My schedule requires me to be away from home for a few days at a time so putting in bleach daily would be difficult for me anyhow. I thought most of what she said made good sense.

The part that didn't was that my conversion is complete. By my test kit, I haven't gotten CC down to less than .5, and I haven't been able to keep FC from dropping more than 1 over night. With that in mind, I will continue to drive my FC between 13-15 when there is no sun until I get there.

What do you guys think of her recommendations? I hate to put new sand in my filter just to have it sit all winter and I like that a tablet every few days should get me through this pool season. I understand that the tablets can be a problem over time, but I expect for this short time they would be convenient. Next season is a whole new ball game.

Rick

 

[frogabog]

Re: Just started conversion last night

Why are you not maintaining 15ppm during the day? Intermittent chlorine additions stall this process, you are not done converting at all. 2ppm CC tells you that you have a ways to go yet. Ignore the pool store lady in this regard, your test result is the only one you can count on. Your water did not go from 2ppm CC to 0ppm CC on the way to the store either.

The roller coaster of shock level to near zero chlorine you're working here isn't very effective, in fact it's probably hindering you.

Tablets are good for vacations if your CYA level isn't too high in the first place. Once you add CYA make sure you have room for any that tablets will add when used.

 

[Rick Lohr]

Re: Just started conversion last night

Thanks, just to clarify, is it 1.5 gal each day in the evening, or 1.5 gal each 12 hours.

Either is acceptable for the short three days you will need to but I would suggest evening only. Because the sun will voraciously consume your FC, dosing more heavily at night is cost effective.

If you have the time and determination to do it, (and when you get the kit so you can test) I think dosing on a schedule something like this would give you maximum benefit and cost effectiveness.

6:00PM dose up to 15ppm

10:00PM again

5:00AM again (yikes! )

10:30AM again

Repeat daily, testing each time and adding only enough chlorine to get BACK to 15ppm

This post gave me the impression that adding chlorine during sunny hours was not really cost effective. I was not worried that it slowed the process a little. And yes, I don't trust their CC test. As far as my CYA level, I have never added any yet so that should not be a problem short term.

Rick

 

[Rick Lohr]

Re: Just started conversion last night

Also this:

4. Test your water frequently and add the appropriate amount of bleach to get back up to 15ppm. Do this as often as possible, as often as every hour if you can, but at least once a day. Make sure you test and add bleach before bed, and test again in the morning before the sun hits your pool. Initially, the FC will be used up very quickly. The more often you can test and boost your FC to 15, the faster the conversion will go. Toward the middle of the conversion, it is more prudent to test and add your bleach in the evening, or at other times when the sunlight is not directly shining on your water.

My pool is in full sun all day.
Rick

 

[frogabog]

Re: Just started conversion last night

Good morning, Rick,

You're making good progress. Don't let your FC drop down like you were doing there for a while (I think you have already corrected that) A baqua-goo conversion is the same as a prolonged shock process...... You clear the pool by CONSTANTLY holding the FC at shock value until you meet the same three criteria......

1. Your water is crystal clear.
2. You lose less than 1.0 FC during the OCLT (no reason to do the OCLT until you meet #1 and #3)
3. Your CC's test is .5 or less

I don't have a really good explanation of the variation in your pH but I suggest you ignore it and focus solely on keeping the FC above 10ppm and cleaning and brushing your pool. The Aqua bug is a cleaner without much capacity for doing big jobs and this conversion may strain it's capacity. manually vacuuming whenever you can is probably better. I haven't reread the whole thread......are you keeping the filter clean? is the pump running 24/7?

You're in the downhill stretch now so don't focus on anything else but keeping FC in the pool and cleaning the pool of solid material any way you can.

I think Duraleigh may have been referring to the initial first 3 days of the process. Above, he talks about maintaining the chlorine level constantly.

You are loosing roughly 10ppm a day to sunlight and the conversion. By maintaining it during the day you will still loose all that chlorine, but it'll be there or close to it at sundown if you maintain it. It's probably a wash in quantities since you have to add it all back in at night anyway. The point is however, the chlorine level will always be high enough to do battle instead of spending most the day loosing it.

I don't know when you can add CYA to a converted pool, but when you can get it in there it'll help a lot with daytime FC losses.

 

[Rick Lohr]

Re: Just started conversion last night

Not sure what happened, but this is the first I have used Chlorox and it took it up more than it should have. My FC was 1.5 and I put in 2 182 oz jugs. I ended up with 20 ppm when it should have been 15. I backwashed nice and long then added some new water.

I did have the Triclor tab in for a while prior to my previous decision to continue shocking. I took measurements after I had removed it. Maybe it had FC in the filter that had not made it to the rest of the pool yet when I took my measurement.

I'll check it again before bed. Hope I didn't bleach out anything.

Rick